This invention is concerned with an article-carrying bag which also doubles as a cushion when the bag is emptied of articles.
The present invention has as its principal object, the provision of a device which serves the dual purpose of being both an article-carrying bag and a seat cushion when the articles are removed from the bag. The bag of this invention is particularly useful in recreational activities such as group games, picnicking and bathing whereby the user can carry game paraphernalia or picnic items in the bag, remove the articles therefrom at the game, picnic or bathing site and then use the bag as a cushion for a chair or stool provided at the game or for a comfortable seat on the ground or beach.
In the past, certain portable and foldable blankets and seats have been described in the art. In U.S Pat. No. 3,041,638 to S. A. Lovico, for example, a folded utility bag is provided having a removable lining, preferably of absorbent cloth, adapted to be used as a blanket by a person reclining on the spread-out bag. The utility bag contains a lining of absorbent fabric housed within an envelope characterized by being made up of four distinct, substantially coextensive principal portions. An array of slide fasteners on the lateral edges of the inner envelope between one end portion and an inner portion and on the remaining inner portion allow removal of a unit from the inner portions including the lining.
In U.S. Pat. No. 2,870,464 to M. J. Labick, a foldable blanket is provided having snap fasteners and a handle to enable closing of the blanket into a package-like condition and carrying the so-folded blanket from place to place. The blanket consists of a wool, fabric, plastic or other water-proof sheet which also contains fastening handles and strap. The blanket is half-folded along fold lines, quarterfolded and then cross-folded to provide a seat or package condition.
Article-carrying, foldable and portable bags which also double as a mattress or blanket in the unfolded condition have also been described in the art.
In U.S. Pat. No. 2,788,583 to H. Bornstein for example, a mattress is provided having a thickened end adapted to be doubled over and having fastening means whereby parts thereof can be releasably fastened together to form a bag-like containing portion which can be carried with the mouth of the containing portion facing upwardly by means of carrying handles. The fastening means include sliding clasp fasteners on longitudinal edges of the mattress such that the first third part of the mattress can be folded over the second third part so that the mattress becomes doubled over with the thicker end hanging downwardly. By connecting the fasteners, the blanket is converted to a bag which can be used to carry small articles. Similarly, other patents have described blankets convertible to a bag by means of folding and applying fastening means to the free edges thereof; see for example U.S. Pat. No. 2,315,126 to F. Michalke (blanket convertible to a bag); and U.S. Pat. No. 3,489,194 to D. H. Hoover (diapering station convertible to a bag).
The present invention, unlike the above patents, is concerned with a unitary article-carrying bag and cushion. It does not employ slidable fasteners or any manipulation of the bag itself to form a cushion because the cushion and bag features are simultaneously contained within the construction of the bag itself; that is, it does not require formation of a bag from a cushion or vice versa as in the above patents. It is at once both a bag and a cushion. By virtue of the elimination of fasteners which are often unreliable and involve time and inconvenience in their use, the present invention provides a more reliable and convenient bag convertible to a seat cushion then similar bags described heretofore.